Alabama

Money saving ideas for Huntsville schools

Users of al.com post suggestions on editorial about Huntsville school cuts..

HUNTSVILLE, Ala, _ Fire Schools Superintendent Dr. Ann Roy Moore.

Bring on a lottery.

Drop athletics.

Merge Huntsville, Madison County and Madison City school systems into one countywide system.

Those and other recommendations were among the comments The Times received on al.com reacting to our editorial Sunday about the school budget cuts.

One reader even suggested closing school cafeterias and have parents send lunches with their kids.

"This will also eliminate having children choke down a meal in five to 10 minutes," wrote "bamaman0427" in suggesting closing school cafeterias.

The Huntsville City School Board last week heard an earful from residents over city school budget cuts that resulted in the layoff of 140 employees. Those receiving pink slips were mostly teachers, although there were also counselors, assistant principals and support personnel.

The "bottom line to the school system," Sunday's Huntsville Times editorial said, is "there's simply less money available - a lot less."

City schools will lose $22 million this year because of cuts in the state Education Trust Fund.

The editorial said a question for the public is how much are citizens really willing to support the teachers they say they can't live without. It referenced a sales tax as one option and said citizens "must let their voices known on where to cut or how to replace the lost revenue."

Few readers embraced the tax idea mostly on grounds that school leaders could reduce waste and cut more administrative expenses instead of teaching slots.

"Bamamullet" said the simple answer to the funding woes is a state lottery.

"Eurekadog's" call to drop athletic teams drew a counter view from "maomatt" who wrote that parents and athletic boosters pay a big chunk of those costs. "Are you that much a misanthrope that you even think everything is better if you screw other people's kids out of the advantages that extracurricular activity provides? maomatt said.

"Frustratedmomoffour" urged the City Council to pass at least a 1/2-cent sales tax earmarked for the schools. A full penny sales tax hike would be better, frustratedmomoffour added.

"Money is not the answer. Going back to the three R's would be a good start." reacted "sgb22741."

"Brown Zephyr" and "sehsv1" called for paring down Alabama's public school systems (there are now 127) to one per county to save money.

"Stottle" said issuing pink slips were necessary to balance the budget. "This is exactly how it should be except when the cuts hit Grissom (High School), the parents came crying."

A letter writer to The Times who asked that her comments not be published "because I am almost 80 years old" and have difficulty writing pondered whether schools should be more aggressive in redeeming labels from food products for "education points."

Noting the volume of people who buy participating products every day like soups, toilet paper and cereals, the letter writer pondered, "Could we not ask" that people including those without children in school peel the labels and "mail them to their nearest school?" the elderly writer suggested.

"There are lots of energetic people in the state who like to crusade about something. Perhaps some of them would like to promote this," she said.

It would be great, indeed, if much of the energy used in protesting could be harnessed to promote budget solutions.

Throw in your money-saving tips for area schools at al.com/opinion/huntsville.